Psychoanalytic Morrison's beloved

1. Done by
Eesa Al-Jobouri
Karabuk
University
M.A. Student
Psychoanalytic
Morrison's
Beloved

2. psychoanalytic
Morrison's Beloved
My presentation focuses on
the psychoanalytic theory that
help interpret and explain Toni
Morrison's Beloved. A
question centered on my
head: Is psychoanalysis the
best way to understand the
message of the writer?
Description
Beloved is a 1987 novel by the
American writer Toni Morrison.

3. Toni Morrison
She was an American novelist, book
editor, and college professor
Born on February 18, 1931, in Ohio .
Her novels are known for their epic
themes
Died: August 5, 2019, New York, United
States
Works
Beloved
Song of Solomon
Tar Baby
The Bluest Eye

4. Beloved is a 1987 novel by
the American writer Toni
Morrison. Set after the
American Civil War (1861–
65), it is inspired by the
life of Margaret Garner, an
African American who
escaped slavery. she killed
her child rather than have
her taken back into
slavery.

5. In the middle of the century, Negro
slavery was still a fact of American life
“The nation was being split in two by it,
the south defended slavery more and
more vigorously” (Bode 1987, 52).
In this period racism worked strongly
therefore black American lived in
suffering especially for slaves. In
slavery regardless they were men,
women, old or young they got bad
attitude from white people.

6. Psychoanalysis seems to be the most suitable approach to analyze and interpret Toni
Morrison's Beloved.
Freud is the founder of this theory in which he was able to explain human behavior
through dreams and unconscious symptoms.
Beloved is recognized as one of the most modern novels to apply psychoanalysis
theories.
The struggle for psychic wholeness is a continuous one in Toni Morrison's Beloved, a
novel was getting up in slavery and its aftermath.

7. • Sethe is the central character in the novel , she was influenced by her
actions, especially killing her innocent daughter.
• It was evident that she had experienced a harsh treatment in her past .
• In other words, the way Morrison explains slavery forces the reader to
feel evil for Sethe, not see her as a murderer.
• It can be possible through Sethe asks the ghost for forgiveness, and she
thought that she by killing her, she is protecting her from being a slave
and raped.
• Not just Sethe, exist almost as dreamwalkers in a state of dissociation
and denial as they remain determined to expend their psychic resources
keeping the past.
• The psychoanalytical approach could be then further related to the other
important aspects of the novel .

8. This is something that Denver, Seth and
Paul D. have experienced, as it can only be
addressed by accepting the past and
recalling their true identities.
Beloved's role was to remind these
characters of their pent-up memories
which eventually led to their reintegration
on their own.
In another word, Sethe had done “a
mercy killing” for her daughter‟s
freedom.

9. • Toni Morrison’s narrative strategy much like the structure of psychoanalysis-
acts as a conditional operative, offering her creative opportunities to deal
with the real, the fantastic, and the possible events that make up slave
history.
• Psychological impact of slavery .
• Beloved deals exclusively with the distorted love of a mother for her child under
the oppression of slavery .
• Beloved's transition between spiritual and physical forms can be compared to the
emotional distance that slaves felt

10. Beloved and Sethe’s relationship also signifies the psychological connection
between mothers and their children.
Because slaves were seen merely as property, the importance of families
was not considered when deciding where they would be sent to work.
Many children were torn from their mothers at very young ages, a trauma
that is nearly impossible to recover from.

11. Morrison’s novel is centered on the psychological reflection of rape and
abuse.
Dr. Robin E. Field focuses on Morrison’s representation of these traumas
“Such is the case with Sethe, the most prominent of the novel’s many
sufferers, who bears the physical scars of slavery’s terrible violence upon
her back” (Field, Dr. Robin E. 3).
Sethe was attacked by two young white boys who held her down and stole
her milk, preventing her from feeding her daughter. “After I left you, those
boys came in there and took my milk. That’s what they came in there for.
Hold me down and took it” (Morrison 19).
Sethe considered her milk for her daughter to be her most important
possession, and in losing it, she lost a large part of herself.

12. Conclusion
The unconscious is believed to be the most important Freudian contribution to
psychoanalysis, and it has to be connected with the idea of repression which serves
as a cover for the unconscious wishes and traumas. For this reason, the symptoms
reveal the repressed unconscious.
Ruled by id, no ego/ superego
No morals and control
By considering the life of Toni Morrison, it will help to understand the motives and
the impulses of the writer.

13. • How can Beloved's strange actions throughout the novel be
explained?
• How does Beloved's personality indicate to the personalities
of real slaves?
• Why did Morrison decide to make such a twisted character
the core focus of the novel?

14. The End
Thank you